Aging event highlights ways to improve aged care globally – Center for Retirement Research

I recently attended the joint meeting of Leading Time and the Global Network on Aging in Boston. Leading Age is the trade association for not-for-profit aged care providers, covering aged care facilities and home health. The Global Network on Aging (based in the UK) promotes the sharing of ideas and experiences among international providers of older age services. The event, titled “The Power of Purpose: Creating Ripples of Change,” attracted more than 6,000 people from around the world to learn how to improve the lives of older adults and people with disabilities.

Attendees participated in dozens of breakout sessions, most of which discussed the nitty-gritty aspects of running an aged care facility or program. The showroom was packed with more than 100 vendors hawking their services.

Sessions I attended included the difficulties of providing care to older adults in Africa in the face of dramatic demographic changes, new software to assist family caregivers, and how changing U.S. immigration policies are reducing the caregiver workforce.

Africa

Elderly people in Africa are living longer as their children and grandchildren (who have traditionally provided care) are migrating from rural areas to cities, not too dissimilar to trends in the United States. Francis Njuakom from Cameroon writes movingly about the difficulties faced by older women, who are often married to older men, sometimes as one of several wives. When their husbands die, they often lose status and protection, resulting in a lack of respect and dignity in the community. His organization is working with young people on volunteer activities to support older residents, including gardening, beekeeping and goat raising.

software

The next conference I attended presented on emerging software solutions for home caregivers. One of them is Trualta, a startup that offers online services including a video learning library, helpful checklists, webinars and peer support groups. It is dynamic, so users receive information about their products as their support needs progress.

migrant

Luis Salvador of the American Business Immigration Alliance and Misty Charley of the Critical Labor Alliance explained that according to KFF Health News, about a quarter of the long-term care workforce is made up of immigrants. The Trump administration announced the end of parole and Temporary Protected Status for several countries and imposed sweeping travel bans on several countries, meaning citizens of those countries can no longer obtain work-related visas to come to the United States. Salvador and Charley are reaching out to other groups, such as those representing farmers, to try to loosen those restrictions and create new pathways for workers to come here, such as three-year renewable work visas.

Cycling regardless of age

Finally, the most inspiring part of the conference was the screening of a documentary about a movement to get seniors outdoors, with cyclists taking them around in purpose-built rickshaws. The Cycling Without Age movement started in Copenhagen and has chapters in 41 countries.

This documentary depicts the Santa Barbara chapter’s experience rescuing seniors from assisted living facilities. It seems to be enjoyable and active both for them and for the bikers (or “pilots”) who take them out for the ride. The chapter features chapter founder John Seigel-Boettner and was founded by his two sons, both of whom attended the meeting.

For more information about Harry Margolis, check out his Adventures in Aging in America blog and podcast. He also answers consumer estate planning questions on AskHarry.info. To stay up to date on the Squared Away blog, join our free email list.